Always remember: Simple doesn’t mean easy. Some of the simplest things to do are often the most difficult.

1. Don’t expect too much: Not everything will ever go your way. Something will always seem like its missing. The moment your emotions get a grip on you, you start to create grand assumptions. And then you lose. Expect the worst, the best, and at the same time, nothing at all.

2. Don’t criticize: There’s a quote in one of my favorite books, The Great Gatsby:

Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone, just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.

Very true. It’s easy to criticize, but much harder to realize that the reason why you’re criticizing is probably out of fear or jealously or because you’re bored.

3. Be present: If you’re exercising and you’re feeling the pain — feel the pain. Don’t ignore it. Don’t mute it with music. Live in that moment. Be aware of everything that you’re doing, feeling, and telling yourself. Learn to fight through it. Learn to stop making excuses every time your body feels discomfort. Learn to do this with everything that you do.

4. Be kind: It’s simple. If no one likes you, you probably won’t get too far in life.

5. Dealing with idiots, arrogance, the like: “That’s interesting. Let me know how that works out for you,” is a great answer to give to avoid meaningless arguments with people who probably won’t change their mind, no matter what you say. We are a biosphere of mostly insane humans — there are people out there who wake up and step in the same shit every day, instead of walking around it or simply removing it from their path. They blame everyone but themselves. Insane, I know.

6. Tell yourself a different story: There was a quote in Mad Men said by the leading character, Don Draper:

If you don’t like what’s being said, change the conversation.

This goes for what you say to others and what you say to yourself. It’s that simple.

7. Redefine everything in your life: Chances are, you’ve been told lies about success and power and living a good life. Things like success were already defined for us — nice car, good paying job, finish college, 6-pack abs, whatever. Those things are not success. They can be, but they don’t have to be. The American Dream may not work for you, but it may work for someone else.

I finished reading Hugh Macleod’s book, Ignore Everybody (good read), and he said this:

Everybody has their own private Mount Everest they were put on this earth to climb.

Very true. Redefine what success means to you. Redefine what life means to you. Redefine all the lies that were instilled in you to keep you a safe consumer, destined to follow someone else’s dream. Once you know what you truly want, go and earn it.

8. Ask why: Ask yourself why you do the things that you do. If you have trouble coming up with a meaningful reason, then chances are you shouldn’t do it. For example: I used to have a Facebook and had about 700 friends. Maybe 10 of them were my real friends, yet I continued to log into this world for no real reason. I would observe the lives of others and focus on them, rather than focus on me and my work and my true friends. Be very clear on why you do what you do, and if there’s a true purpose behind it, ask yourself how you can do it better.

Sometimes the best questions aren’t the ones we ask others, but the ones we ask ourselves. With honesty and care.

9. Here’s all the productivity tips you need:

Don’t watch T.V (or at least, minimize your intake of entertainment drastically).
Identify all the distractions in your life, and without a magic wand, eliminate them. Have trouble eliminating them? I know why: Fear.
Ask yourself why you log onto Facebook 100 times a day, or ask yourself why you go on Twitter 200 times a day.
Focus on the things that help you grow as a person — learning, reading, gaining experience, doing your work.
Exercise your craft daily, whatever it may be. No days off.
If you attend meetings, keep it short, simple, and have a specified goal. No goal = hour long meeting of procrastination and a bunch of fearful individuals.
Lao Tzu said it best:

Time is a created thing. To say ‘I don’t have time,’ is like saying, ‘I don’t want to’.

That’s pro.

10. Do you: Stop focusing and worrying about how other people live their life. Life becomes a whole lot better when you learn to shut out the outside noise, and focus on the noise going on in your own mind.

This man says it better:

A key point to bear in mind: The value of attentiveness varies in proportion to its object. You’re better off not giving the small things more time than they deserve. — Marcus Aurelius

Life is joyfully simple. Let’s keep it that way.

Narcissism has been classified as a personality disorder. All that says is that it is out of sync with what is considered to be normal behavior and perspective. But it also suggests that narcissism is a choice. That choice may be based on disturbing childhood experiences, but it is still a choice. I believe that fear is the primary cause of narcissistic behavior, but the fear does not need to be current. In other words, acting in a narcissistic way is how the narcissist learned to deal with fear throughout his life.

It is my opinion that narcissism is a type of addiction. The narcissist has chosen and continues to choose his behavior because he believes it works for him. Over the years he has gained enough from this behavior that he continues to use it even in the face of negative consequences. It is his default conduct and he has learned to apply various techniques in different circumstances. It may be that he has done it so often and has convinced himself so strongly of its value that he simply no longer thinks of it as a choice. In other words, it just comes naturally to him.

A simple observation from the Bible has become a well-known saying in our culture:

“As he thinks in his heart, so is he.” (Proverbs 23:7)

Those in relationship with narcissists are victims or objects, rather than caregivers.

She says that passion is a fundamental trait she looks for when deciding who to back and who to mentor. She listens carefully to the words people use. For example, if someone just wants “to get rich,” and has no passion for a particular idea, Clark will pass.

“It’s not good enough for me. There’s no rush to create a business you’re not passionate about just to be rich,“ she says. "It will not work in the long run. You must have your heart in it. The heart is what’s going to drive you to make the most money.”

When I interviewed Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, we spoke for more than an hour and he didn’t bring up the word “coffee.”

“Coffee is the product, but it’s not the business we’re in,” he told me.

Schultz built an empire from scratch precisely because he wasn’t as passionate about the product as he was about “creating a third place between work and home.” Anyone can sell a cup of coffee. It takes a true innovator to create an experience.

Things will go wrong. Developing the ability to weather storms calmly and without overreacting will serve you throughout your life. If you lose your cool, others will respect you less. And in addition to the original problem, you will have created other issues to resolve!

Don’t lose sight of what’s really important. Before you become angry, try putting yourself in the other person’s shoes. Yes, you have your ambition – but you’re still human. It’s hard to relate to someone who doesn’t think of anyone else.

What are you trying to achieve? How are you going to do it? Create a roadmap and stick to it.

Do what you have to do to keep things moving. In other words, don’t wait to respond to an email until the next morning. Don’t wait to call someone back. Keep it going! Momentum is as important for your state of mind as it is your business. If you’re not pushing, your business will suffer, and you will become discouraged as a result.

If you don’t have a sense of urgency, you will never get anything done. If you try hard enough, you will always be able to think of a reason why you can’t. Instead, think less and do more. In my business, I am constantly asking my employees and myself: What do we have to do to ship? You will miss the market for your idea if you do not act.

You’re always asking why. You have a thirst for knowledge. You are unafraid of experimenting with new technology. You ask yourself regularly, “What can I do better?” You read. When someone acts as if he already knows it all, I think, what do I really have to offer this person?

You’ve heard it before, and I’m going to say it again: Enthusiasm really is contagious. If you don’t believe in your idea, no one will. Having – and even more importantly, maintaining – your enthusiasm for your ideas is a must. I know I’m always willing to listen to someone who is excited, upbeat and eager to share his story. I can’t help it. My inclination is to want to be enthusiastic about it as well.